Related links

Mr Cole, who was brought up in Cobham, also said his videos on his Food For Louis Youtube channel had sparked debate about the ethics of eating meat.

“The welfare of these animals is often dreadful. I think some people don’t want to face the fact that to eat meat, animals have to die, often badly,” he said.

He also defended himself from claims he was simply aiming to garner publicity, saying: “This has never been a desperate attempt at fame and although it has drawn a lot of attention it wasn’t
planned.”

So far he has eaten a live scorpion, tarantula, locusts, dead mice and a frog
he found floating in an American river, but none of them were deemed protected as they were not vertebrates like a goldfish.

The maximum sentence for cruelty to animals is a fine of £20,000 or six months in prison.

The RSPCA said in a letter to Mr Cole, which he posted on his Facebook wall at the weekend saying “I’m in SERIOUS trouble!”, that he was being investigated for animal cruelty.

It said: “If we cannot speak to you on a voluntary basis, you give us no other choice than to request the police arrest you in order to interview you.”

But Mr Cole said: "I respect the work the RSPCA do and find it disappointing they are wasting their time pursuing this matter."

Comments (6)

it is not necessary to eat goldfish (or live scorpions, tarantulas, locusts, dead mice or frogs) (i'm a vegetarian, so not a hypocrite, and won't be going out for a steak after posting this...).

nice one, guardian, for providing a link to the video of him eating the scorpion. way to encourage this nonsense.

this guy needs to look into other forms of "entertainment". what is he, 5? influenced by something he saw on tv, lame! time to get a thought process of your own, louis.

“This has never been a desperate attempt at fame and although it has drawn a lot of attention it wasn’t planned.” um, if you not only posted it on you tube, but made a channel, yes it was.

how would he like to be eaten? head bitten first then swallowed whole? if he says he wouldn't mind, he's a liar, and so this is just plain unnecessary, let alone cruelty.

it is not necessary to eat goldfish (or live scorpions, tarantulas, locusts, dead mice or frogs) (i'm a vegetarian, so not a hypocrite, and won't be going out for a steak after posting this...).
nice one, guardian, for providing a link to the video of him eating the scorpion. way to encourage this nonsense.
this guy needs to look into other forms of "entertainment". what is he, 5? influenced by something he saw on tv, lame! time to get a thought process of your own, louis.
“This has never been a desperate attempt at fame and although it has drawn a lot of attention it wasn’t planned.” um, if you not only posted it on you tube, but made a channel, yes it was.
how would he like to be eaten? head bitten first then swallowed whole? if he says he wouldn't mind, he's a liar, and so this is just plain unnecessary, let alone cruelty.emelem

"So far he has eaten a live scorpion, tarantula, locusts, dead mice and a frog he found floating in an American river, but none of them were deemed protected as they were not vertebrates like a goldfish."

Ha! So what they taught me in zoology lectures about mice and frogs having backbones was all rubbish!

"So far he has eaten a live scorpion, tarantula, locusts, dead mice and a frog he found floating in an American river, but none of them were deemed protected as they were not vertebrates like a goldfish."
Ha! So what they taught me in zoology lectures about mice and frogs having backbones was all rubbish!SarahOX14